Waiting lists to be injected with cash

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An injection of $25 million into the state's elective surgery
budget could cut the waiting list by more than 10,000 over the
coming year, the Government said yesterday.

Of the 66,500 people waiting for elective surgery in NSW, 9971
have been waiting more than a year for their operation. The
Government is already investing $725 million in the coming year on
planned surgery.

"An additional $25 million is the equivalent of 865 total knee
replacements or 1350 total hip replacements or 8732 cataract
extractions," said the Premier, Bob Carr.

But while he was happy to promote the boost in funding, details
of how each hospital will revamp its surgical services to do more
operations have yet to be released.

Mr Carr said the plan envisaged short-stay, or 23-hour, wards in
each hospital for patients undergoing minor procedures, an extra
100 beds and increased operating theatre time for surgeons.

At St George Hospital, the introduction of a specialised
elective surgery unit had reduced its waiting list from 760 to 704
in the past month. Prince of Wales Hospital had a similar drop.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Brian McCaughan, co-chairman of the NSW
Surgical Services Task Force, said 80 per cent of elective surgery
would soon be performed in these specialised wards, leaving
longer-term acute beds available for bigger operations.

He said the state had not moved fast enough and waiting lists
had blown out. "The aim of this system is to have no one waiting
more than 12 months for their operation."

The chief executives of each of the area health services will be
responsible for hospitals reaching their elective surgery
targets.

But the Opposition spokesman on health, Barry O'Farrell, said
area health services could not be trusted to deliver waiting list
targets. "Area health service chief executives have had elective
surgery targets in their contracts for years. But, despite waiting
lists being out of control, all CEOs recently received hefty pay
rises."

The funding announcement came just days after the Government
outlined a plan to add 800 beds to the hospital system - an
admission that it had cut too many beds in its 10 years in
power.